


vow (and a kiss to seal it)

by denpring, slotumn



Series: Lysiclaude Week Stories with Illustrations [5]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Art, Digital Art, F/M, Illustrations, Lysiclaude Week (Fire Emblem), Marriage, Post-Church Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Reincarnation, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmates, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:49:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25000111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/denpring/pseuds/denpring, https://archiveofourown.org/users/slotumn/pseuds/slotumn
Summary: [contains illustrations]His vow is that they'll be happy together, even if it takes another lifetime.(And his prayer, as he carries her still-warm body, is that there will be another lifetime, because otherwise, he will never be able to let go.)
Relationships: Lysithea von Ordelia/Claude von Riegan
Series: Lysiclaude Week Stories with Illustrations [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1803874
Comments: 5
Kudos: 26
Collections: LysiClaude Week 2020, Slotumn Portfolio





	vow (and a kiss to seal it)

**Author's Note:**

> Writer note: This is the first piece I wrote in advance for this ship week and probably my favorite. The soulmates thing isn't super obvious but it's supposed to be there.
> 
> Artist note: I would complain about the fact I had to draw two piece for this one, but Claude and Lysithea smiling gives me too much dopamine for that.

How he imagined it would happen:

The war is over, the land is brimming with chaos and potential and hope, and he takes that chance to reform Fódlan-Almyra relations so that no child will have to suffer like he did ever again. It happens regardless of which side won, although things would be significantly easier if it was the Alliance.

Once she's finished with her house's affairs in Fódlan, he sweeps her away to Almyra, where she goes from a brilliant little princess to a wise queen. There's a grand coronation and a wedding, and all their friends-- at least the ones who survived-- are invited. It's followed by a big feast with plenty of sweets she hasn't tried before, and he teases her that she'll get cavities while watching her try out every single one. She shuts him up with a kiss.

The political opposition and whispers are inevitable, of course, but they endure because they have each other. They prove themselves, not in the eyes of those who seek to tear them down, but in history.

They have kids. One of them might be suited to take the throne, or not. If it's the latter, he'll simply pick another successor who will continue and improve upon what he-- they-- built.

Then they retire, and there's all the time in the world to gaze at the stars, take in the scent of the lilies, bake sweets, read books together. He keeps teasing her about being childish even when his hair color matches hers.

Perhaps she'll learn to shoot back by calling him old.

\---

What actually happened:

Nobody wins the war. Not really. Gronders is like a condensed version of the whole thing, where all of them clash, all of them fall apart, and Teach is left to pick up the pieces.

The Alliance is decimated, and whatever valor he hoped to earn in Fódlan and take back to Almyra may as well be in the negatives. They will never recognize him as heir to the throne now.

She's still with him, but even that silver lining won't last for long, as she quietly explains on the night he proposes to her. The two Crests and long war has taken its toll on her-- she'll be lucky to be alive five years later.

He squeezes her hand and tells her that he'll find a way, that they'll search the ends of this world together for a cure. A not-so roundabout way to beg.

She accepts.

The night before they leave, they have a ceremony between just the two of them. She says that it's still binding because it's in the eyes of the goddess, and even though he isn't a believer in the divine-- having only doubled down on that after everything he's seen-- right then, he wants to be.

His vow is that they'll be happy together, even if it takes another lifetime.

(And his prayer, as he carries her still-warm body, is that there will be another lifetime, because otherwise, he will never be able to let go.)

\---  
\---

How she imagined it would happen:

Even though she pretends she's not interested in that kind of media, she's secretly a sucker for cliché high teen romance, so she hopes she'll run into someone she can be high school sweethearts with. Someone sweet, kind, caring, and supportive, there to carry her to the nurse's office if she passes out. Someone who'll bring her cake and notes for the classes when she's sick at home.

One of them musters up the courage to ask, and they go to homecoming and prom together. Maybe they won't quite be able to spit all of it out then, but they try kissing anyway, her first, and feel sparks.

When they meet again, after college, she'll be all professional and earning enough money to pay off her medical bills and go on dates at those expensive cafés with delicious cake. The chemistry is back stronger than ever as they catch up, so both of them agree to go steady, assured and confident and mature.

They slowly work each other into their lives. Stay over at the other's place on some nights. Talk about career and families and friends and parents and the future.

And one day, she'd be presented with a little ring. Maybe it'll be in a box, maybe it'll be in a cake, with some ruckus in the process of her discovering it. Either way, she accepts. There are happy tears and I love yous and so much to look forward to.

She walks down the aisle on her wedding day, in a pretty dress right out of fairytales-- an honest reflection of her true tastes, because it's a once-in-a-lifetime occasion.

There's a vow, and a kiss to seal it.

\---

How it actually happened:

He's annoying. So goddamn annoying, and she can't stand him, but she also ends up adjusting to the point that it feels weird when he's not around teasing her about her height or age or sweet tooth or whatever it may be. The worst part is that he compliments her where it's due, and her traitor heart keeps skipping beats around him.

It's new and she doesn't know how to handle this strange phenomena, but at the same time, it's also inexplicably familiar-- just like him.

When she faints in middle of class, he carries her to the nurse's office like in her fantasies. She throws up all over him and it's not romantic at all, but the way he laughs it off actually makes her feel better. They become something like friends after that, and they go to homecoming and prom together-- not _together_ together, but as part of the same group. She has fun.

They run into each other again after college as co-workers, and decide to catch up over some drinks. She admits she can't save up as much as she wants because emergencies always come up here and there, and also that she has no idea what the fuck is going on with her life. He laughs, cracks open a can of beer, and says it's the same for him-- it's the same for everyone, even the ones who seem confident and assured. She takes his word for it, and feels a bit better. (Then he teases her about how she's drinking fruit juice and annoys her again.)

They meet like that several more times, and one of those nights turns into a messy hook-up that leads to awful drunk confessions, like "I had a crush on you back in high school," and "Back in? I still like you," and "It feels like I've missed you far longer than I actually have, why?" and "I was _looking_ for you."

The last two don't make any sense, except they do.

So they end up dating, then go steady, then figure out different ways to say "I love you" even when they're cranky and tired from all the bullshit at work, or life in general.

And one ordinary evening, while they're piled together on the couch, watching some generic fantasy action film with wyverns and archers and magic, she realizes-- _remembers--_ that she wants this for the rest of her life.

He does, too.

That weekend, they go pick out two cheap rings and head to the city hall to sign some documents.

"Til death does us apart?" he asks, grinning.

She replies, "I'll be surprised if it can," before kissing him.

(Afterwards, he dramatically scoops her up to carry her out of the building, and she feels more alive than ever.)

**Author's Note:**

> [LysiClaude week twitter](https://twitter.com/LysiClaudeWeek?s=20)   
>    
>  [Writer twitter](https://twitter.com/slotumn?s=09)   
>    
>  [Artist twitter](https://twitter.com/denpring?s=09)   
> 


End file.
